Artist Ari Fish explores creative realms in The Pitch Questionnaire

Ari Fish. // Courtesy photo

Ari Fish is an artist living and working in Kansas City. She received her B.F.A. in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute. However, her work is not restricted to ceramics; she also creates stunning paintings, illustrations, animation, audio designs, large-scale installations, and artistic fashion designs. You might recognize her from her stint on Project Runway season six, but her work has come a long way since allowing her to be publicly judged by Heidi Klum in 2009. She is a two-time recipient of the ArtsKC Inspiration Grant, and she is a Charlotte Street Visual Artist fellow. 

Social handles: arifish.com 

Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri

Current neighborhood: Parkville

What was the last thing to make you laugh?

Probably something my partner said. That, or watching an interview with Mike Tyson where he calmly and gradually loses it on the reporter as time goes on. 

Favorite “hidden gem” spot in Kansas City?

I like the Cool Vintage Watches store in Downtown Parkville. I never call it by that name when I refer friends there. I usually just call it the ‘Man Store.’ It’s all classic vinyl, leather, wood, steel, and beautiful watches. Very dialed in. They always cut me a deal on one-of-a-kind jewelry, too. It reminds me of Loma Vista Hardware, which was in Westport in the ’90s. That store, to this day, is my favorite store. If you know, you know. 

Kansas City needs more of…

I’d say a better relationship with the river. The railroad has had a stranglehold on that relationship since its inception, right? But I’d also say that Kansas City needs more of a reality check. Having been here for so long and never left for more than a year at a time, it feels a little like KC is in the midst of a mid-life crisis. I think the pandemic brought an influx of people who moved out of KC in their late teens and 20s, only to come back decades later to start businesses that model what has worked (or not worked) on the coasts, etc.

So, ultimately, you’re left with this shell of second-hand culture from the coasts. You walk around, and it feels like you’re in a pharmaceutical ad or a fever dream of bad first date spots. I don’t have a solution (and it might not even be a problem to solve). Besides, it’s much easier for me to criticize than to mobilize. So, kudos to people trying, too. 

How did you first fall in love with making art?

My mother always had a cabinet filled with art supplies for me growing up. Always stocked. And they weren’t normal art supplies either. There’d be wood panels to paint on, wire and wire cutters to build with, oil pastels, chalk pastels, and so on. Thinking back on that cabinet, it was for nice dinner settings, plates, saucers, etc., built into the wall. I like that art supplies took precedence in my house. I was given space to create. Never forced, always encouraged, but never too rewarded either. If my mother would have told me I was the best growing up, I would have peaked at 10 years of age. She is a realist, and it made me work harder to achieve better. 

What is the greatest challenge you face being a working artist in Kansas City today?

I think any challenge I face is not tied to a geographic location but solely to me. The further along I am in my artistic career, the more I demand my own time to research and play. I’m trying to come to terms with walking away from the hamster wheel I constructed in my 20s to always have consistent output. I seek less validation from others when it concerns my art and, more so, prioritize validation from my children as their parent. With that said, Kansas City has supported me in the past and continues to be a pillar of inspiration for me today. 

Who are some of your favorite local artists to collaborate with?

I’ve loved working with Ryan Wilks, Kahlil Irving (though he’s in St. Louis and everywhere else now), Annie Woodfill, Justin Wright, Jane Almirall, Imani Nixon, and Shawn Hansen. I’m also perennially inspired by Michael Pearl from Pearl Family Farm, Alicia Ellingsworth, and Lydia Nebel from KC Farm School (all three taught me everything I know about regenerative farming). Rhiannon Caballero from the KCK Art Walk (and Curiouser Gallery, the list goes on) is goals for me. I am perpetually in awe of all that she does. I’m obsessed and inspired by the paintings of my partner, Robert Glinn, as well as the narrative paintings of my dear friend, Kris Devlin. My longest collaborators, and the two artists I truly receive consistent and constructive feedback from, are my children.

‘Where Was your G-d’ drawing. // Courtesy image

You’re known for working across mediums and mixing media. How do different artistic mediums enable you to tell different stories?

Each medium is a direct conduit to its intended audience. My art installations are a service to the people of the communities in which they reside. My clothing design is armor for the people who wear it. My graphic design is a sincere pun on capitalism. My audio pieces are akin to my soul burping (that’s not the most poetic or palatable way of saying that, but it may be the most honest way of saying it). My paintings are the sincerest form of play and make me feel guilty about how selfish I can be in their automation. And, my drawings, and I’ve always believed this, are a direct connection with G-d, or source, or however you wish to define the spiritually divine.

Your work is self-described as “integrating elements of sacred ritual, religious study, multi-sensory saturation, and deprivation, and emphasizing the necessity of both spirituality and absurdity.” Can you speak more about this relationship between spirituality and absurdity that you are inspired by?

I think if you’re unable to realize the relationship between the two, you may not have experienced deep grief in your lifetime… yet. With deep grief comes the capacity for deep joy. Sometimes, my mind wanders to the realm of working titles for an autobiography, and that’s when the relationship between the spiritual and the absurd really flourishes. You can look at your life as a tragedy or a comedy. You can naively recognize your life as inspirational, or you can honestly recognize your life as a series of fortunate events with other nouns, no matter how turbulent, no matter how peaceful. Is it chance? Is it fate? Is it circumstantial? Is it karma? Or are you just a speck on a blue marble in a galaxy of many?

And what’s wrong with accepting all of the above in tandem? For example, I think more and more people talk of the ‘algorithm’ and technology that is interfering with our privacy for the sake of a sale. There are targeted Instagram ads catered and curated to our tastes and purchase history. We are so apt to understand and believe this concept that, without fail, the conversation arises about this phenomenon when we are out with friends. But, if we are so inclined to believe in that, trust in the Powers That Be that created that technology, why do we not apply the same sort of trust and belief in the spiritual algorithm?

What if we believed we were surfing (and suffering) in this life (and past and future lives) within the realm of the Almighty’s curated fate for us? From the cheeseburger you ate in the parking lot of a McDonald’s to the choice of your spouse. It’s all relative, and it’s all within a manufactured lens. What if we applied that same trust and understanding that we do to social media marketing to the direction of our own lives, no matter how seemingly absurd? Trust fall into the absurd. See G-d in the pigeon eating a french fry or a child’s laughter, or in the grief of losing a loved one. It’s all there.

Can you tell us more about your Temples installation series?

I can, and if you’re still reading after the answer to the last question, you’re an absolute saint. The Temporary Temples series began under the tenet of art as an experience and not an object to collect or view. I wanted the audience to be a part of the art, within it, a participant and a collaborator. Before 2010, I was making art to sell and to impress my peers and gallerygoers. After the birth of my first child, I did a swift redirect and began this Temple series in the hopes of making art for an audience of all ages and abilities to enjoy. I was fatigued, at the time, by the notion that art was for consumption, a status, or an object you’re pressured to purchase.

These Temporary Temples are designed to create memories, to feel nostalgic, and to simulate familiar thoughts and feelings. Each Temple has its own theme in accordance with its numerological order. For instance, my Fifth Temple was centered around the number five. Five being the number of “Man,” it focused on a post-apocalyptic survivalist setting and Man’s will to live no matter the circumstances. The Sixth Temple was all about the divine feminine, the mother. It was called “Latch.” The Seventh Temple was themed around the spiritual father, the divine masculine. The Eighth Temple explored equality, equilibrium, and peace.

I’ve taken this past year to process the last eight Temples and play with the theme for the Ninth Temple. For each installation, I take over a gallery completely and install it from ceiling to floor. I construct the soundtrack and lighting, too. I offer up each installation to the public to run programming within it. I’ve had over 60 hours of programming in these Temples, free of charge and open to everyone. I will be elated to finish ten Temples of this series and look forward to a digital archive of each. Ideally, I’d like to reconstruct each Temple for VR technology so that they can be accessed anywhere, anytime. 

Your fashion collections are more like wearable art. The dynamic costumes you designed for the Peaches tour are reminiscent of Nick Cave’s “sound suits.” What was the process of designing these costumes for this particular tour like?

What a compliment. Nick Cave is a brilliant artist and an even more brilliant professor. Peaches contacted me through a mutual friend and asked if I’d make a few pieces for her tour. At the time, I was designing clothing for Cody Critcheloe of the Ssion and members of the Gossip, so I understood what worked on stage and what didn’t. When designing for musicians, you have to create pieces that breathe well, don’t need too much dry cleaning, and can pack light and tight. I’d fly out to L.A. to do fittings for Peaches’s stage costumes. She’s incredibly kind and knows what she likes. She possesses tact and tenacity. I appreciate that she took a chance on me at the time. 

What was the inspiration and motivation behind the playfulness and designs for  “Chicks on Speed: Wolfsburg Theremin Project?”

Well, if I remember correctly, the woven theremin was already constructed. It was unlike anything I had seen or have seen since. I play around with audio production in my work and was fascinated by their shoe guitars, etc. They got into contact with me through a friend, and from there, I created accent pieces to match the woven theremin, as well as more sculpture-like constructed pieces that would bounce and move when they moved around it. I think I was chosen for the project because of my interest in kinetic clothing design. They, too, like Peaches, were incredible to work with. They were encouraging and gave me the freedom I crave in a project like that. I’m so grateful to have worked with them and everyone on that project. 

Looking at “This Really Isn’t as Bad as It Seems,” What were the challenges and rewards of creating such a large-scale installation with clay?

That was my first foray into large scale multi-media installation. That was probably two tons of clay that I mixed and fired myself. I studied Ceramics in Vancouver, B.C., and continued my clay studies at the Kansas City Art Institute. I think I wanted to prove that I had mastered hand-building (which, does anyone ever master anything, really?). The physicality of the work was one of the greatest challenges. Moving it to the gallery and installing it. I also combined my love for sewing, woodworking, and soft sculpture in that piece. I think making it look pretty seamless between media was a huge challenge and a reward in the end. 

Do you have a favorite project (or favorite projects) you’ve worked on throughout your career that I haven’t asked about yet? Please use this space to shamelessly self-promote.

I think for the first time in my 20+ year artistic career, I’m not looking back at previous work as the golden age or zenith of my studio practice. I’d have to say I’m most proud of my recent drawings and paintings. I am pleasantly surprised by my own drawing skills in the “Where Was Your G-d” drawing I did this spring and the “Clearance” painting I finished this fall. Both pieces are signals of growth in my technical and conceptual art-making skills.

Can you tell us anything about your current or upcoming projects?

I’ll be in a group show at Wesleyan University in Connecticut at the top of the year. It’s exciting because I’m exhibiting my drawings for the first time since 2007. I’m also doing commissioned acrylic portraits via my website. I’m offering original/commissioned portraits at a more accessible price point so that everyone may have the opportunity to get their portrait painted. Additionally, I’ve been dancing with the planning stages of my Ninth Temple under the curation of Rhiannon Caballero. She’s been patient and encouraging of my research process, and I look forward to that project in 2024. 

Is there anything else you’d like to use this platform to discuss?

It would be great to discuss the relationship of Man to AI as a metaphor for the relationship of Man to the Creator. I think we fear AI and robots turning on humanity without realizing the possibility that humans may have turned on or perverted any concept of the Creator since the inception of humanity and spirituality… but I’ll save that discussion for another day.